Detachable clamp and guard bracket



Jan. 28, 1958 c. w. WORKS 2,320,996

DETACHABLE CLAMP AND GUARD BRACKET Filed Oct. 19, 1954 V INVENTOR 5/7 42; 55 14 1402/6 BY ff/6.2 477Z WW= AQ ATTORNEYS X nite DETACHABLE CLAMP AND GUARD BRACKET Charles W. Works, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 19, 1954, Serial No. 463,185

1 Claim. (Cl. 20-92.4)

This invention relates to a guard and more particularly to a guard for an article of domestic equipment.

Heretofore, it has been experienced that a child of the age commonly referred to as a toddler is quite apt to turn the knobs of television sets, radios, stoves, and the like in quest for knowledge. The tampering with the knobs of pieces of household equipment of the type above referred to will in the first two instances produce distortion of the reception of the signals, and in the last instance as likely to produce a hazard.

The primary object of this invention is to prevent an infant from reaching the control knobs of an article of domestic equipment.

Another object is to protect the infant from injury when the guard is employed in front of a stove, fireplace or the like.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features horizontally spaced parallel front rails, longitudinally spaced vertical bars carried by and extending between the front rails to define therewith a front panel, horizontally spaced parallel end rails carried by the front rails and extending perpendicularly therefrom adjacent one side thereof, longitudinally spaced vertical bars carried by and extending between the end rails to define therewith end panels, and clamping means carried by the end panels remote from the front panel for clampingly engaging an article of domestic equipment and holding the front panel at a selected distance from the front of said article of domestic equipment.

Other features include connecting the side bars to the front bars to permit the folding of the side bars against the front bars, and the jointing of the front bars between opposite ends thereof to permit the opposite side sections of the front bars to fold against one another for storage.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a guard embodying the features of this invention, showing it in position adjacent a television receiving set;

Figure 2 is a view of the device in its folded position ready for transportation or storage;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a front panel designated generally comprises vertically spaced horizontally extending front bars 12 and 14 which are separate pieces joined together midway between their lengths by hinges 16. Vertically extending spindles 15 are carried by the bars 12 and 14 to complete the panel. Any conventional latch means 18 may be employed to hold the sections of the bars 12 and 14 in longitudinal alignment to define the front panel of the device.

Hingedly connected as at 20 to the upper and lower front rails 12 and 14 are upper and lower side rails 22 and 24 defining with vertically extending longitudinally spaced bars 26 side panels 28 which, as illustrated, are adapted to extend laterally in spaced parallel relation from the front panel 'ltl' adjacent' opposite ends 'of the' front panel 10 when the device'is'in use. The :forwardaends of the bottomside rails 24 are extended forwardly as at .28 beyondthe forward 'flds of"said "Side -fiils'tllld connected to the forward ends of the extensions 28 and to the forward ends of the upper side rails 22 are diagonal braces 30, as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 1.

Carried by the side rails 22 adjacent the ends thereof remote from the front panel 10 are clamps designated generally 32 comprising channels 34 carrying depending bracket arms 36, which, as illustrated in the drawings, extend inwardly and downwardly from the side rails 22 to define clamp jaws 38 carrying outwardly extending L- shaped arms 40 which are mounted to rotate on threaded stems 42, the inner ends of which bear in depressions 44 in the clamp jaws 38, while the outer ends of said threaded stems carry heads 46 by means of which the screw threaded stems 42 may be rotated about their longitudinal axes. Threadedly engaged with each threaded stem 42 is an upwardly extending arm 48 of a clamp jaw 50 which, as illustrated in Figure 4, is adapted to partially embrace the depending flange on one side of an article of domestic equipment E to clampingly engage the side panel carrying the clamp 32 with one side of the piece of equipment E.

In use, the clamp jaws 50 are released to enable the guard to be positioned about an article of domestic equip ment and permit a flange of said article to be received in the jaw 50 adjacent the jaw 38. Upon rotating the screw 46, the guard will be firmly clamped in a selected position to the article of domestic equipment and may be adjusted so that the front panel 10 of said guard remains at a selected distance from the article E so as to prevent an infant from tampering with the knobs on the article of domestic equipment.

Obviously, by using a guard of the character herein described, an article of domestic equipment such as a television set may be employed without having an infant tamper with the dials thereof to throw the article out of adjustment.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

A clamp comprising: a bracket arm formed of a length of flat bar stock; means at one end thereof for fixedly connecting the same to a support in position extending outwardly from said support, the other end of the arm forming a flat-surfaced, wide jaw one face of which is adapted for face-to-face contact with an article to be clamped; a wide arm atfixed to and extending outwardly from the opposite face of the jaw, said arm being L- shaped and including a first leg secured to the jaw and extending perpendicularly to the plane of the article-contacting face of the jaw, the arm including a second leg lying in a plane parallel to the first named plane, the second leg having an opening; a threaded stem rotatably engaged near one end in said opening and extending be tween the jaw and the second leg perpendicularly to said planes, the stem at its other end abutting and rotating against the jaw; a guide arm connected between said second leg and said jaw in parallel relation to the first leg, the guide arm having a slot paralleling the stem; a second clamp jaw of U shape embracing the first jaw, one leg of the second jaw lying in a plane parallel to the first plane said one leg of the second jaw confronting the firstljaw for clamping of said article therebetween, the second jaw- Patented Jain; 28311958 9 4 J 1 having a second leg extending through the guide slot and 884,772 Sorensen Apr. 14, 1908 formed with a threaded opening receiving the stem, for 1 1,046,479 McPherson Dec. 10, 1912, shifting of the second jaw longitudinally of the slot and 2,162,523 Blood et a1. June 13, 1939 stem responsive to rotation of the stem. 2,195,955 Hillenbrand Apr. 2, 1940 V 5 2,516,366 Clark July 25, 1950 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,586,251 Peebles 9, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,678,791 McPhaden May 18, 1954 640,700 Reece Jan. 2, 1900 

